Wait for It
Okay, so you know when I say I’m in the mood for a certain kind of romance read, and I’m always searching for that “next” one? That one that has me dreaming about it, thinking about it, and reading in slow motion during those awesome parts. Those heartfelt, heart-tugging, butterfly inducing scenes. The silly (or serious) conversations. The surprising glances. The subtle possessive behavior by the one you’re (er… she’s) crushing on so hard, even though he doesn’t realize he’s doing it?
You know those illusive moments that give you goosebumps, and make you antsy (even though allllll of that pining and crushing and fuming is just as exciting as the “finaaaaalllly getting there” 😉 )?
THIS IS IT. THIS is what I’m in the mood for. ALWAYS. I’ve come to realize that Mariana Zapata is officially one of my favorite authors. I’ve read five by her, including three of my favorites in the world (Kulti, The Wall of Winnipeg, and now this one) and I must say, each one that I’ve read, I’ve loved better than her last, making this one, my favorite of them all.
Maryse: So I’m reading “Wait For It” and I gotta say… the build-up and slow burn of it is pretty much… perfection. THIS is what I’m talking about when I say I want to have to work for it, and I LOVE that I’m only in HER head and I have NO clue what he’s thinking. AND I LOVE that he’s so BELIEVABLY brooding and stand-offish and there are no innuendos from his part.
And I LOVE that I’m getting to know the main character and HER life, and the kids, and her work, and her freak-outs, and her personality and that it’s not all wrapped up in him. But I also love that she’s so unsure around him, too. Because of that, I’ve got butterflies. IT IS SO GOOOOOOOD. I’m loving EVERY single thing about this story.
Reanell: YES!!! This is one of my favorites for 2017!!!Clare: It’s fabulous on audio too! Love it.Alanna: This was the first book I ever read by Mariana Zapata and it hooked me. I devoured the rest of her books.Chrissy: She truly has a gift for the slow burn!! Loved The Wall of Winnipeg and and Kulti. Also Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin!Jennifer: YES!!!! Soooo excited!!!! Isn’t it AAHHMazing??!!Maryse: I am sooooo happy reading this right now. I don’t want to do anything else!!Jennifer: AGREED!!! A week later and it’s still on my mind.Jen: Some authors can write and then some authors can WRITE!! Mariana Zapata!! I cried and cried when Wait for it was over! My husband said Jennifer !! Why would you read a book with a sad ending! I said it has a happy ending! I am just so sad it is over!! I feel like I know those characters! What a beautiful book. How can you fall in love with characters in a book?? She makes it so easy! Ahhhhh!!!
Maryse: OHHH YES Jen! Now I finally get this comment. I AGREE. Leaving them… SO HARD. I want to stay!!!!
Tessa: oh, Wait for It is so good. Just everything I loved about Kulti is in this book. You all must read it!
D.G.: Maryse – you will LOVE Wait For It! I think I gushed over it for a week or two because it is a slow burn and reunion all in one! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVED it (5 loves instead of stars!!)
Cheryl: I enjoyed Wait For It too!! But dear god that title was dead on; S–L–O–W burn romance. The author is the queen of those!
bev: Finished Wait for It. Very sweet read. …slow moving & slow burn. And prefect for a lazy morning.
Jan: …Wait For It seems to be similar in style to Kulti and Wow, although it’s a different kind of story from those two. The h is Diana Cassilis, best friend of Vanessa (from WoW) and a relative (cousin maybe?) of Sal from Kulti. But it’s completely a standalone. You gradually get to know the great characters in the book as their stories unfold and relationships develop. Diana is just lovely, and she’s got a heckuva lot to deal with but she does it so well. And there are lots of funny, sweet moments.
I’m glued to this book and have dropped the other ones I was reading till I’m done with this one. So far I highly recommend it to anyone who liked Kulti or WoW or who appreciates slow burn and well-written characters with integrity.
Kate: That book was great. I’m not always a fan of the slow burn but this book was fantastic
Natasha: YES YES YES!!! This book is perfection!!!!
Oh I KNOW you want to read this!!! 🙂
What’s it about? Okay! I got this!
So… Diana has just moved into the neighborhood and bought herself a sweet little house in a quiet neighborhood for her and her two very young nephews, that she is now parenting.
Both boys sat there, looking at me expectantly, making me feel like a shepherd to my sheep.
A shepherd who didn’t always know the right direction to go.
I could only try my best and hope it was good enough. Then again, wasn’t that the story to everyone’s lives? “Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”
Life is picking up, stabilizing, and while she is somewhat overwhelmed with becoming a parent overnight to a 5 year old and 10 year old (her brother’s children), she’s getting the hang of it.
Nothing before the age of twenty-six could have prepared me for raising two boys. Really. There wasn’t a single thing.
And anyway, she was always the “favorite aunt” and the trio love each other like crazy!
They were my boys. Maybe they hadn’t come straight from my body, but they were as mine as they could get. Plus, what did it matter if he thought I was a single mom? I was a single aunt. A single guardian. That was basically the same thing.
And as she settles into her new life, and her new home, with her new family, she also is forced to get to know a few neighbors. A sweet (albeit somewhat opinionated senior down the street) that often needs Diana’s assistance, and the two brothers across the street. Both hot, but one (Jackson)… a total A$$ (and I mean… unapologetic in his rudeness)!!! And his older brother, Dallas <— (a HOT and angry-looking badass!!!!).
The man’s eyebrows twitched. “Yeah. I’m your neighbor. He’s only staying with me.”
This was my neighbor.
All this was my neighbor?
What the hell?
This tall, muscular, tanned-skin man with tattoos to his elbows and a body that made me want to pray he did the lawn with his shirt off was my neighbor.
He’s set in his life, has no time for bullsh*t, although is somewhat gentler in his approach. He coaches little league baseball, he’s solid in his company, and has enough of his own life to deal with.
In fact, one of my favorite scenes, that LET ME KNOW this was going to be “true” to the slow-burn (and no-nonsense) promise was when she was at a local bar with her new friend/colleagues one night and during a moment alone, she notices her “across-the-street” hot-but-grumpy neighbor that she ended up helping during a moment of duress. Hoping to make a new friend, she goes over to say hi!
She pats him on the back, and he doesn’t turn around. She tries again, and when he finally looks over his shoulder and sees her, he doesn’t get all innuendo-y. He barely acknowledges her, politely <— (barely) accepts her “hello”, and turns back to the game he’s watching at the bar. No come ons. No rudely spoken rebuffs. Just… okay, yeah. Hi.
Great. He didn’t recognize me.
“Hi.” I flashed him a smile that was about 98 percent “why did I do this?”
“I’m Diana, your neighbor,” I explained, because though we’d met twice, apparently he still didn’t remember me. If that didn’t make a girl feel good, I didn’t know what would.Dallas blinked once more and slowly gave me a hesitant, wary look as he nodded. “Diana, yeah.”
I blinked at the most unenthusiastic greeting I’d ever been welcomed with.
And then to make it worse, his frown made a reappearance at the same time his gaze flicked around the bar. “This is a surprise,” he said slowly, his forehead still lined with confusion or discomfort, or both. I didn’t know why.
SO. REAL.
Oh… no. I am not saying that being ignored is hot. What I’m saying is… if you’re hot or not (and Diana is DARN CUTE in all ways!!!), Dallas is not THAT player.
I could tell where I was wanted and where I wasn’t.
“All right, I just wanted to say a friendly ‘hello.’ I’ll see you later, neighbor.” I finished in one breath, regretting making the decision to come over more than I had regretted anything in recent history.
That furrow between my neighbor’s eyebrows deepened as his gaze swept over me briefly before moving back to the television as he shifted forward in his seat, dismissing me. The action was so f*cking rude, my stomach churned from how insulted I was. “’ Kay. See you around,” he said.
Thank God I had said I was leaving first.
He’s uninterested in flirting shenanigans, and hitting or being hit on, and all that goes with that. And you know what? Everything about his personality is believable (because the author LETS. HIM. BE.)!!!!!!! There’s no public “bad-ass attitude”, and then soliloquies (or innuendoes of how badly he wants to get in her pants… etc etc…) that totally (for me) puts a damper on the tension and anticipation.
Yep. He’s brooding, no-nonsense, and not looking for a relationship.
But you know what? We don’t know either way. ‘Cause we’re only seeing life (and him) through HER eyes. And his attitude is true. His brusque persona is WHO we get, because for the most part? It IS who he is. And for a good reason.
My neighbor’s eyelids swung low over the brown-green-gold color of his irises.
“Anyone ever told you you have a staring problem?”
GASP!!!!!!!! Why, I NEVER…!!!!
What you see, with Dallas, is WHAT. WE. GET. And I LOVE THAT. They are strangers on the same street, before they finally become acknowledged neighbors. They are acknowledged neighbors before they become a SEMBLANCE of friends. They are a semblance of friends, before they actually become REAL friends (and I mean ONLY friends)… and the rest… well. 😉 That’s to be explored. And what an exploration it is.
OH BOY do we have a lot to discover… and live. And feeeeeeeeel. HOLY MOLY DO WE FEEL! This book brought me to tears quite a few times, while making my heart flutter the whole way through. In angst. In need. In frustration. In heartbreak. In worry. In love.
One of my favorite books ever. Every single character in this story is true-to-life, believable, whole, and real in their own way.
HOLY MOLY, 670 pages (and you know it needs to be really gooooood for me to stay connected for this long of a story) and I never wanted it to end. I WAS HOOOOOOKED.
Wait for it… Wait. For. iiiiiiiiiiit… 😉
5 STARS!!!!!
➔➔➔ Looking for more of my must-read recommendations? Browse my 5 star and 4.5 star and 4 star reviews. 😀
➔➔➔ Love this author? Browse more Mariana Zapata features and reviews on my blog. 😀
*hugs Maryse* I love Mariana Zapata too.
I think she’s my number one favorite right now. Her and Kate Stewart.
Oh!! And Rachel Higginson!
I am so glad you finally read it!! AND that you LOVED it! My favorite read of 2017 for sure. It definitely is one of my favorite of all times too. She is one talented amazing author! Her books bring such joy to my life!
LOVED this book and author too!! Always a “feels” book.
AND Rachel Higginson has a new book-Constant, coming out on the 16th!!!
This was good. It and Kulti are tied. I think this may have a better pay off for the slow build though. I love her slow burn but sometimes almost too reticent.
I’m good with the reticence, only because it lets us indulge in the chase for a bit… or in the friendship that truly is ONLY a friendship. What comfort and safety, that is.
I LOVED this book! It’s on my top reads of 2017 list!
Great review Maryse!!! This is my most favorite book ever!! It rudely pushed Kulti out of it’s way to my number one spot!! Just thinking about Dallas and Diana make me happy!! So glad you loved it!!
Yay, glad that you enjoyed this book, Maryse. It is one of my TOP favorites ever. My five-star book. Awesome review! 🙂
Thanks guys!!!!! Two awesome books in a row. I’m thrilled.
What next?? 😀 I hope another like this.
Scrolled straight past your review to see your rating! 5 STARS!!! It’s gotta be a winner then. Moving it up on my TBR!!!
This is one of my favorite go-to listens in all of my audiobooks. I’ve listened to Wait For It, Kult and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me at least 7 times each. There is something so perfect about each one, such feel good stories with characters that are so completely real and relatable. And you’re right about it being all about these small moments. They’re longer books but do not feel long at all and you don’t want them to be over! I’ve highly recommend Mariana Zapata books to several people.
Maryse, first off…YAY!!! So happy that you loved it! Mariana Zapata is definitely one of my favs. She is an automatic one click for me!
Have you read Under Locke??? Another of my favorites from her.
Mariana Zapata is an automatic one-click for me and Kulti is one of my all-time faves…can’t wait to read this one…yay!
Mariana Zapata is one of my favorites also. She is very “slow burn” which is good but can at times, be a turn off (for me) but i love the romance of her books. The guys are not throwing “alpha vibes” all over the place. Wall of Winnipeg was my favorite and Wait for It my second fav. I liked Kulti but a little too much inner dialogue for me. Glad you liked Wait for It.
This sounds familiar. Hasn’t it been out for a while?
It’s been out for a few months. I backtrack on my one-clicks every once in awhile. 😉
YESSS I loved Diana so much. I’ve already reread this one a few times. If I feel like crying, I just go to the part where she’s outside crying about socks and I lose it! Ha they’re just such a cute couple. Such a real story and I love the slow genuine friendship and love and all the real life details.
Mara YESSS THE SOCKS!!!!!!!!
Best book EVER. LOL!! Gah every single scene and moment was real life, and totally what I wanted to read about, while slowly falling in love and all of the insecurities that go along with it.
GAH!! MORE MORE MORE!!!